Roll stand



March 7, 1961 R. BENINGER EI'AL ,9

ROLLASTAND Filed Feb. 16. 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 I Roberz L. Bezu'izger1% 93 Q Paul W r/Zzcobsen M r 19 R. 1.. BENINGER ETAL 2,973,914

ROLL STAND 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 MW; Emm Y wn 5 5 n z hm m E Filed Feb. 16,1956 March 1961 R. L. BENINGER EI'AL 2,973,914

[ROLL STAND Filed Feb. 16. 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Li zflg a I 555?:2 Q 1;5 3 EW a FJ J'Jllk m f 2 m W n m w WU] A March 7, 1961 R. L. BENINGEREIAL 2,973,914

7 ROLLSTAND Filed Feb. 16, 1956 I s Sheets-Sheet 4 7*: air is Pazz/ Wc/aaobsezz March 1951 R. L. BENINGER ETAL 2,973,914

ROLL STAND 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 16, 1956 LIZ/E ZZTD 7-5 Faber! L.Bezu'zzgez Pa W. dizwbsezz ROLL STAND Robert L. Beninger, Sheboygan, andPaul W. Jacobsen, Kiel, Wis, assignors to H. G. Weber and Company, Inc.,Kiel, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Feb. 16, 1956, Ser. No.565,907 I Claims. (Cl. 24258) The present invention relates to a rollstand, and more particularly relates to a material handling mechanismand system for lifting and supporting a roll of web material wherebymechanism utilizing the material may pull the web from the roll therebyunwinding the roll.

While it will be appreciated that mechanisms embodying the principles ofthe present invention are of general utility, an embodiment thereofexemplifying the invention. has been described hereinbelow in detail byway of example only and without any intention of limiting the scope ofthe invention in any way. The particular embodiment to the inventiondescribed in detail hereinbelow is itself of fairly general utility bute11- joys particular utility in the handling of sheet-width web rolls asdistinct from rolls of strip material etc.

While there are known in the art many structures operative to support aroll of web material for unwinding the same, many of these have notenjoyed the desired success since they had incorporated therein numerousstructural details which were thought necessary but nevertheless createdmany inconveniences and expenses. For example, most heretofore knownroll stands utilize a center shaft to support a roll by passing theshaft through the hollow roll core. The utilization of this type ofequipment, which was the most common type, was necessarily cumbersome,inconvenient, and expensive inasmuch as it required relatively long setup time.

Another inconvenience sulfered by many heretofore known roll standsresulted from their cumbersome and ineificient manners for shifting theroll axially thereof in order to align the edge of the web with theequipment pulling the web from the roll, such equipment being anydesired equipment utilizing the material of the rolls such as bag makingmachinery etc. Other difficulties with heretofore known types ofequipment were present in the roll gripping techniques utilized as wellas the roll lifting techniques utilized and such other items as thefacility with which the roll stand mechanism might be variouslycontrolled to perform its functions.

All of the foregoing as well as numerous other difficulties and lack ofeconomies in the utilizations of roll stands are overcome by the presentinvention and it is, therefore, an important object, feature andadvantage of the present invention to provide a new and improved rollstand which is easily and conveniently operated, has a relatively shortset up time, and is easily and conveniently controlled.

A roll stand embodying the principles of this invention will have asupport structure on which there are mounted a pair of parallelcoextensive arms which are controllably movable together angularly,toward and away from each other, and simultaneously movable laterallywithout varying spacing therebetweenj On these arms there may be rollgripping chucks so, that a roll may be gripped simply by moving the armstoward the roll until the chucks grip into the core of the rollwhereupon the arms may be moved angul-arly to lift the roll and therebypermit unwinding thereof. The capacity te States arm able axially of theshaft but of the machine to easily move the arms simultaneouslylaterally thereof without varying the spacing therebetween permits easyand convenient edge alignment of the edge of the web of the roll withthe equipment utilizing the roll and pulling the web from the roll.

Additionally, the mechanism may be conveniently controlled by a fluidpower system such as a hydraulic system or may be controlled byelectrical and mechanical systems, although a hydraulic system isdescribed hereinbelow in detail as an exemplification of the controlsystem incorporating the principles of this invention.

The control system may also have electrically operating characteristicsto control braking and loading of the roll and unloading of the roll asthe roll unwinds and further control loading and unloading braking poweragainst the roll sensitive toacceleration and deceleration of the roll.Since the loading and unloading braking controls as well as the specificstructure of the chucks are known in the art, they will not bespecifically described in detail herein.

From the foregoing it will be observed that it is an important object,feature and advantage of the present invention to provide a new andimproved roll stand wherein a support structure carries a pair of armswhich are" and for simultaneous lateral movement Without varying thespacing therebetween.

Still another important object and feature 'of the present invention isto provide a new and improved roll stand as described wherein the armsare carried on bearing assemblies assembled about a splined shaftjournalled in the base structure and with the bearing structures havingrollers therein engageable in the g'ro'dves of the splined shaft wherebythe arms are rollingly movprevented from angular movement with respectto the shaft.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved shaft and bearing housing arrangement wherein'the shaft issplined and the bearing housing carries a plurality of sets ofadjustable rollers whereby the bearing housing are movable axially of'the shift but fixedfor co-rotationwith the shaft.

Still another object of the present invention is to 7 provide a new .andimproved actuating mechanism for controlling the movement of these armsincluding an actuator such as an hydraulic double acting piston andcylinder arrangement interconnecting the two traversing bearingassemblies carrying the arms for powera'bly driv mg the arms toward andaway from each other anclja second actuator which also may be a doubleacting'pis'to'n 1 and cylinder hydraulic actuator connected at one endthereof to the shaft and at the other end thereof to one of 'the twotraversing bearing assemblies to move the two arms simultaneously ineither desired lateral dire' c f; g tion for edge alignment of the webbeing pulledfrom the roll carried by the arms.

the arms to raise and lower a roll thereon.

Yet another object of the present invention is to pr I system 'fofcovide a new and improved fluidcontrbl trolling the actuators on the rollstand.

Still another object of the present invention is", to 1 7 i vide a-newand improved two pressure fluid central em for the actuators wherebyexpensive high newts fluid units are utilized to only'a-.-minimumextentafidflw pressure fluid control units maybe utilized throughout theremainder of the fluid system whereby great economies are effected.

Still other objects, features and advantages of the present inventionwill become readily apparent from the following detailed description ofthe present invention and an embodiment thereof, from the claims, andfrom the accompanying drawings in which each and every de- -tail shownand illustrated is fully and completely disof Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmental side view of the roll stand of Figure 1 shownpartly in section and viewed as taken along the line IV-T-IV of Figure1;

Figure 5 is a sectional view of a traverse bearing roller assemblyviewed as taken substantially along the 1 line V--V of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a sectional view of the roller assembly of Figure 5 viewedas taken substantially along the line VI--VI of Figure 5; and

Figure 7 is a schematic and diagrammatic illustration 'of the controlsystem for this roll stand embodying the principles of this invention.

Thus, the figures of drawing incorporated herein fully illustrate anexemplary embodiment of a roll stand ini corporating the principles,features and advantages of this invention. The roll stand is illustratedas an entire assembly in Figures 1, 2 and 3 and indicated generally at10. This base and support structure 10 has a pair of end supports 11 and12 which are fixed in a spaced apart relation by a tie rod 13 securedthereto by having nuts 14 threaded onto the threaded ends of the tierod, which threaded ends extend through appropriate apertures in the endsupports 11 and 12 and clamp the end supports between the nuts andshoulders on the tie rod.

Each of the end supports 11 and 12 is more or less L-shaped with arelatively heavy short leg, 15 and 16 respectively, acting as the basefooting and a longer .upstanding arm or leg, 17 and 18 respectively,which legs :on each end support may be integrally cast or otherwiseformed of a strong structural material such as cast-iron or steel or thelike, and are tied together and supported by reinforcing sections 19and20 respectively.

At the upper end and toward the rear of each of the upstanding arms 17and 18 of the end structures 11 and 12, the arms carry bearings or shaftbushings 21 and 22 which are secured in appropriate apertures there- .inand are axially aligned to support a shaft 23 which is journalledtherein. The shaft 23 is a splined shaft herein illustrated as havingfour elongated rectangular grooves or splines 2424 therein (note Fig. 4)and is of such length that it extends not only for the entire distancebetween the two shaft hearings or bushings 21 and 22 .but alsotherebeyond on the outer ends of each thereof.

Between the end supports 11 and 12, the shaft 23 carries a pair oftraversing bearing assemblies 25 and 26 having elements thereincooperating with the splines 24 on the shaft 23 in quadrature in such amanner that the traversing bearing assemblies 25 and 26 are co-rotatablewith the shaft 23 and movable axially therealong.

Each of the traversing bearing assemblies has secured thereto an armstructure 27 and 28 respectively extending forwardly therefrom. Thesearms 27 and 28 .are symmetrical in structure, parallel, and coextensivewhereby they terminate at equal distances from the shaft .23. At theirends, the chuck bearings 29 and 30 are .secured thereto and rotatablysupport coaxial expansion chucks 31 and 32 which face inwardly towardsthe center of the machine, toward each other.

varying the spacing therebetween.

These chucks 31 and 32 are of a type that may be inserted into the endsof a roll core and expand into gripping relation with the inner surfaceof the roll core when the ends of the roll core are abutted by flanges33 and 34 on the chucks and the chucks are further forced toward theinterior of the roll core. These chucks are also operative to releasethe roll core by simple movement of pulling the chucks axially outwardfrom the roll core whereby the chucks contract and are removable. Thedetail of the structure of the chucks will not be described hereinasmuch as the chucks per se are independent of this invention and havealready been described in the art.

Additional items associated with the chucks which have already beendescribed in the art and therefore will not be described in detail hereinclude the brake assemblies 35 and 36, which are mounted on the outerends of the chuck bearings 29 and 30 respectively, which are secured tothe chucks 31 and 32 respectively, and which electromagnetically controlthe tension on the web of the roll as the web is pulled and the roll isunwound. Still another item of this character is the brake unloadingcontrol, operating through a control system to vary the loading of thebrakes 35 and 36 as the roll unwinds and shown at 37 coupled to thebrake 36 through a chain and sprocket arrangement 38. Yet another itemof this same character is an acceleration detection control 39 mountedon the outer end of the chuck shaft for the chuck 31 and coupled intothe electrical control system for this roll stand to control loading andunloading of the brakes 35 and 36 during acceleration conditions such asstarting and deceleration conditions such as stopping of the rollunwinding.

The actuator for powerably driving the arm carrying traverse bearingassemblies 25 and 26 or moving the chucks 31 and 32 into and out ofgripping relation with the core of a roll to be unwound from the rollstand, is best illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 and is indicated generallyat it This actuator 40, in this embodiment of the invention, is a doubleacting piston-cylinder assembly having a cylinder 41 containing a pistonconnected to a piston rod 42. The cap end 43 of the cylinder 41 isconnected through a pivot bracket 44 to the upper surface of the bearingassembly 26 by being pinned, as at 45 to the bracket 44, and the bracket44 being secured to the bearing assembly 26 by a threaded lock pin andnut arrangement 46.

The piston rod 42 is pivotally connected througha pivot bracket 47 tothe upper surface of the traverse bearing assembly 25 by being pinned toa rod extension sleeve 48 which is in turn pivotally coupled throughpivots 49 to the pivot bracket 47 that is secured to the traversebearing assembly 25 by a threaded lock pin and nut arrangement 50.

With this actuator arrangement and interconnection between the traversebearing assemblies, admitting pressure fluid into the cylinder at therod end 51 thereof will cause such movement of the traverse bearingassemblies as to draw the same closer together whereby the chucks 31 and32 may be moved into engaging arrangement with the core of a roll.Conversely, admitting pressure fluid into the cap end of the pistoncylinder assembly 40 will drive the two traverse bearing assembliesaxially apart whereby the roll core may be released from the chucks.This movement also jointly requires simultaneous slower movement of anactuator 52.

Like the actuator 40, the actuator 52 is mounted on universal mechanicalcouplings, but the actuator 52 is arranged for moving the two armcarrying traverse hearing assemblies simultaneously laterally andaxially of the shaft 23 in the same direction at the same time withoutIt will be noted that the actuator 40, when hydraulically locked, actson the bearing assembly 26 to assist in achieving this result.

Thus, the actuator 52, which is best illustrated in Figure 2,

spasms E29 may be jointly with the locked actuator 49 utilized for edgealignment of the web of the roll with the equipment utilizing thematerial and pulling the web from the roll.

The actuator 52 is like the actuator 40 in that it is a double actingpiston-cylinder assembly having a cylinder 53 carrying an axiallyslidable piston therein which is connected to a piston rod 54 extendingthrough the rod end 55 of the cylinder 53. The cap end 56 of thecylinder is pivotally connected as by a pin 57 to a pivot bracket 58pivotally secured in a mounting block 59 therefor. The mounting block 59is secured in an appropriate recess 66 to the under side of the shaft 23by machine screws or the like 61. The piston rod 54 has a rod extensionsleeve 62 secured thereto at the end thereof which is in turn pivotallyconnected as by a pin 63 to a pivot bracket 64 but is in turn pivotallyconnected to the under side of the traverse bearing assembly 25.

Thus, with this second actuator arrangement, when the actuators 4t} and52 have been supplied with pressurized fluid in a manner to bring thechucks 3E and 32 into gripping relation with a roll core and then lockthe traverse bearing assemblies 25 and 26 in a fixed spaced relation toeach other, the supplying of further pressurized fluid to the actuator52 will cause movement of the entire traverse bearing, arm, chuck androll arrangement to move it either to the right or to the left asdesired for proper edge ali nment of the web of the roll with theequipment pulling the web from the roll.

By admitting pressurized fluid into the cylinder between the cap endthereof and the piston therein, the piston and piston rod will be forcedto the left as the mechanism is viewed in Figure 2 thereby moving theentire traversing arrangement to the left. Conversely, the admission ofpressurized fluid into the rod end of the cylinder be tween the rod endand the piston within the cylinder will cause movement of the piston andthe piston rod to the right thereby moving the entire mechanism to theright as viewed in Figure 2. 7

Control for these actau-tors is effected by the control systemillustrated in Figure 7 as coordinated with either manual controls in anelectrical system or automatic controls of an electrical system. Whileit should be clearly understood that many forms of electrical automaticcontrols are available, and that mechanisms embodying the principles ofthis invention may utilize the same without detracting from theinvention, there is illustrated in Figure l a simple operator controlpanel shown at 65 having a plurality of electrical push button controlsthereon. The eight push button controls shown on the operator controlpanel at the operator station may so operate the control system as tocause the following operations respectively: a, edge align toward theoperator; b, edge align away from the operator; c, move chuck 32 intoengagement with a roll; d, move chuck 32 back toward the operator or outof engagement with a roll; e, move chuck 31 toward the operator or intoengagement with a roll; 1, move chuck 31 away from the operator or outof engagement with a roll; g, raise the arms to thereby lift the chucksand the roll held thereby; and 11, lower the arms to lower any roll heldthereby or place the same in position to grip a new roll.

The details of the operation of the control system of Figure 7 will bedescribed hereinbelow following comple' tion of the description of themechanical arrangement and assembly of this device. The foregoing hasbeen included here to provide better understanding of the operation ofthe portion of the mechanism thus far described.

The last two operations described above, that may be controlled from thecontrol panel 65, are the raising and lowering of the arms .27 and 28.The mechanicalarrangement for effecting the raisingand loweringoperation includes a pair of relatively large structurally strong crankshaped lift arms 66 and-o7 that are keyed or otherwise fixed onto theexposed ends of the splined shaft 23 outwardly of the arms 17 and 18 ofthe end supports 11 and 12, respectively. These lift 66 and 67" are sofixed onto the shaft 23 that rocking or angular movement the lift armswill result in angular movement of the shaft 23. Angular movement of thelift arms 66 and 67 may be effected by power actuators 6S and 69,respectively, these actuators herein also taking the form of hydraulicpiston and cylinder assemblies including cylinders 70 and 71respectively containing pistons connected to piston rods 7 72 and 73,respectively.

The cap ends 74 and 75 of the cylinders 70 and 71 are pivotallyconnected to pivot mountings 76 and 77 on the bases 15 and 16 of the endsupports as by pins 78 and 79. The exposed ends of the piston rods 72and 73 are pivotally connected by pins 80 and 81 to the free ends 82 and83 of the crank levers 66 and 67 fixed on the outer ends of the shaft23.

By this arrangement pressurized iluid admission into the cap ends 74 and75 of the cylinders 70 and 71 between the capends and pistons within thecylinders results in the expansion of the piston-cylinder assembly torock the cranks 66 and 67 in a clockwise direction &S

the assembled machine 10 is viewed in Figure 3 thereby rocking the shaft23 therewith and carrying the arms 27 and 28 angularly therewith asthese arms are fixed on the traverse bearing housings 25 and 26 carriedon the shaft for co-rocking therewith. Such angular displacement of theshaft and the arms etc. when effected after the chucks have been engagedin a roll core results in lifting of the roll from the floor or standupon which it had been resting. By bleeding off the pressurized fluidfrom the cap ends of the cylinders 70 and 71 gravitational forces willcause the arms to be lowered.

The bearing assemblies 25 and 26 are mounted on the splined shaft 23 byhaving rollers engaging the grooves in the shaft thereby permittingaxial movement of the bearing assemblies on the shaft but preventing.relative rotation movement between the bearing assemblies and the shaft.This structure is best illustrated in Figure 4 which includes asectional view of the bearing assembly 26 and its,cooperativeassociation with the shaft 23. Therein it is illustrated thatthe bearing assembly 26 includes a housing 84 with an axial aperture 85therethrough to receive the shaft 23. This bearing assembly hasfour'sets of aligned radial apertures 86 disposed in quadrature thereinand so placed thereon as to be aligned with the grooves or slots 24 inthe splined shaft. Each of these apertures 86 is interfitted with aroller shaft 87 journalled therein, which roller shaft is'bestillustrated in Figures 5 and 6. Figure 4 illustrates, however, thatthese shafts are mounted on a roller support plate 88 83, one for eachset of rollers, and are secured in place by nuts 8989 threaded onto theouter stem of the shaft to lock the shaft onto theplate between the nutand a shoulder on the shaft. By loosening the nuts each shaft may berotated within the radial aperture 86 in which it is disposed foradjusting the position of the roller 90 I In Figure 4,;

the four rollers shown are numbered 90,. 91, 92 and 93 V with each onerepresenting 'a longitudinally aligned set-- journalled on a pin carriedin the shaft.

thereof. By adjusting the rollers as shown so that rollers 9i and 93 lieagainst relatively adjacent sides of the grooves in which they arefitted and so that the rollers $1 and 92 lie against the adjacent sidesin the grooves in which they are fitted, the bearing assembly 26including the housing 84 thereof may be fixed on the shaft 23 againstany possible relative rotation thereof. By caus ing these rollers 9t)through 93 to be adjustable, they are also provided with the advantageof permitting long.

for wear thereon life through adjustability to take up and on thesplined shaft. r I

Adjustability of the rollers is facilitatedby the co struction of theshaft 87 carrying the same as {illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 wherein'itis shown that the shaft- 87. has a recess therein which'receives a pin95 upon-which the rollers, individually, areljournalled. I liis'bOr'eFOr 7 recess and pin 95 are eccentric with respect to the annularoutside cylindrical configuration of the shaft 87 so that rotation ofthe shaft 87 (note Figure 4 again) will cause adjustable movement of theroller toward or away also shown in Figure 4 wherein it is illustratedthat the bearing housing 84 has a tongue receiving slide bar groove 96therein to receive a tongued slide bar 97 on the foot end of the arm 28.Additionally, the foot end 98 of the arm 28 is apertured for alignmentselectively with a plurality of sets of threaded recesses in the bearinghousing to receive cap screws 99 which further secure the arm onto thebearing housing in any selected position therealong.

This structural arrangement thus positively locks the arms onto thebearing housings of the traverse bearing assemblies and positively locksthe traverse bearing assemblies on the shaft for co-rotation of the armsand the shaft and for movement of the arms axially along the shaft.

The hydraulic control system for controlling and providing pressurizedfluid to the actuators described hereinabove is illustrated in detail inFigure 7. In accordance with this invention, this system is atwo-pressure hydrualic system having a low pressure fluid system such a400 p.s.i. pressure system and a high pressure fluid system such as a5,000 p.s.i. fluid pressure system. The two systems are combined into asingle coordinated hydraulic system in accordance with this invention inorder to minimize the necessity for the utilization of highpressurehydraulic accessories yet leave available high pressure fluid foradmission to the actuators 63 and 69 for raising a full roll whengripped by the chucks at the ends of the arms. The particular pressuresreferred to hereinabove are, of course, purely exemplary and have beenspecified merely by way of an example of fluid pressures that may beutilized in a particular size roll stand for handling a given variety ofsizes and weights of rolls.

Thus, for high pressure actuation of the actuators 63 and 69 throughthis fluid system, hydraulic fluid is drawn from a reservoir 100 by ahigh pressure hydraulic jack or pump 101 and thence supplied through aline 102 having a check valve 103 and a needle type flow regulator valve104 therein, to the cap ends of the cylinders '70 and 71 of theactuators 68 and 69 to thereby raise the arms and the roll carriedthereby. When the roll has been unwound but the core remains on thechucks, the arms are easily lowered by opening a normally closed highpressure by-pass valve 105, which is connected across a check valve 144,and to one side of a low pressure three-way valve 110 whereby fluid willdrain from the actuators 68 and 69 through the needle valve 104 thencethrough the valves 105 and 110 from which the fluid will flow throughreturn lines 106 and 107 back to the reservoir 100. In the event of theuse of a lightweight roll held on the chucks, the low pressure fluidsystem may be utilized for the actuators 68 and 69 by drawing fluid fromthe reservoir through a pump 108 which will supply fluid over a line 109leading to another side of the valve 110 which is in series with thecheck valve 144.

Low pressure fluid from the pump 108 also operates the remainder of thehydraulic system for gripping the roll, releasing the roll, and edgealigning to either lateral direction of the roll stand. Thus, to movethe left chuck out, pressure fluid from the pump 108 flows through theline 111 through the left side 112 of a four-way valve 113, hereillustrated as being solenoid actuated, and thence through the line 114and a valve 41a to the cap end of cylinder 41 of actuator 40. At thesame time the rodirend of the actuator 40 is drained through line 115leading to the right side 125 of the four-way valve 113 which is then incommunication with a return line 116 that leads to the return line 107to the pump reservoir 100.

To move only the left chuck out, not only must the actuator 40 beactuated, but the aligning actuator 52 must also be actuated and forthis purpose by-pass valve 117 is opened as is the left side 118 of asecond four way valve 119 also shown as being solenoid actuated. Thefluid flows from the pump 103 through line 120, through the left side1113 of valve 119 thence through a line 121, flow regulators 122 and 123and line 124 to the cap end of the aligning actuator 52. The rod endthereof is drained through the valve 117 through the line 127 leadingvia the valve 119 to the return lines 107a and 107 to reservoir 100.

To move the right chuck out requires only opening of the left side 112of valve 113 since the aligning actuator will then hold the left chuckin place.

To move the left chuck in to grip a roll core, fluid is supplied throughthe pump 108 and its outlet line 111 to the right side 125 of thefour-way valve 113 and flows therethrough and through the line to therod end of the actuator 40. At the same time the cap end thereof isdrained through the line 114, through the left side 112 of the valve113, and thence through the return lines 116 and 107 back to thereservoir. Also at the same time, the right side 126 of four-way valve119 is opened for supplying pressurized fluid from the pump 108 throughthe line 120, through the right side 126 of the four-way valve 119thence through the line 127 leading therefrom through regulators 128 and129 to the rod end of the aligning actuator 52. During this operationvalve 130 is opened for the flow of fluid from the cap end of theactuator 52 through the valve 130 leading to the return lines 131 and107 to the reservoir 100, via the valve 119.

Moving the right chuck in requires only opening of the right side of thefour-way valve 113 to supply fluid therethrough and through the line 115to the rod end of the actuator 40. The aligning chuck will, of course,hold the left chuck steady under such circumstances, and fluid isreturned from the cap end of the actuator 40 via the lines 114, 116, and107.

The mode of operation of the fluid system for utilizing either highpressure or low pressure of fluid to raise the arms and the roll andsupply fluid to the actuators 68 and 69 has been described hereinabove.The mode of operation of the system will now be described by which thetwo chucks are moved simultaneously to either the right or the left forpurposes of edge aligning the web to either the right or the left forproper alignment thereof with the equipment pulling the web from theroll supported at the ends of the arms on the chucks. For edge aligningtoward the right, only the right side 126 of the four-way valve 119 isopened to supply fluid from the pump 108 via line 120 and via the rightside 126 of the valve 119, thence through line 127, regulators 128 and129 to the rod end of the aligning actuator 52. It is an inherentproperty of flow regulator valves, such as 123 and 129, to allow freeflow in the direction of the arrow and to control or regulate the rateof flow in the opposite direction. Thus the valves 117 and may be leftin closed position. The actuator 40 will maintain the two chucks intheir proper spaced relation for proper continuous gripping of the rollwhile the actuator 52 then moves the entire traverse assembly to theright. Moving the entire traverse assembly to the left requires merelyopening the left side 118 of the four-way valve 119 whereby fluid flowstherethrough from pump 108 to line 121, regulators 122 and 123, and line124 to the cap end of the actuator 52. The rod end is of course drainedduring this operation as described hereinabove and the entire traverseassembly will move to the left for proper edge 9 alignment of the web.Thus valvelll may be left in closed position. I

The electrical system for controlling this entire operation may take anydesired known form. For example, there are known in the art electricaledge alignment systems which are operative to provide electrical signalseffective to control and energize solenoid actuated fourway valves suchas the valves 113 and 119. Similarly, various other electrical systemsare available for manual or automatic controlled operation of thevarious other valves included in this hydraulic system. In Figure 7, thecontrol panel 65 is shown connected to the various valves by anelectrical cable assembly 65a represented by a broken line to avoidconfusion with the various fluid lines. Also, there maybe providedthroughout the hydraulic system various forms of fluid pressure actuatedsafety switch mechanisms and accumulators etc., such as the differentialpressure switch 140, the hydraulic relief valve 141, the hydraulicaccumulator 142, and the pressure switch 145. Drain lines, omitted fromthe drawing to avoid confustion, may also be provided where thecomponents require it to return internal leakage flow to the reservoir.

From the foregoing it will be observed that the system described hereinis exemplary of the present invention and is effective to accomplish thepurposes and objectives described therefor. The particular systemincludes actuators which are simultaneously or individually actuat-ableto provide any, of several complex power driven movements of themechanism. It will also be observed that numerous variations andmodifications may be effected without departing from the true spirit andscope of the novel concepts and principles of this invention.' We,therefore, intend to cover all such modifications and variations whichfall in the true spirit and scope of the novel concepts and principlesof this invention.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a roll stand having a rock-shaft, a pair of substantially parallelroll-supporting arms corotatably carried on the rock shaft and slidabletherealong axially, a support structure rotatably supporting the rockshaft, and means acting between the supporting structure and the shaftfor rotatably positioning the shaft, the improvement in combinationtherewith of: means precluding axial displacement of the shaft withrespect to the support structure; a pair of hydraulic actuators forjointly effecting roll edge alignment and for jointly effectingoppositely directed movements of the arms longitudinally of the rockshaft, the first of said actuators being operatively connected foracting between one of the arms and the shaft, and the second of saidactuators being operatively connected for acting between the arms;whereby furthermore when said first actuator is hydraulically locked,said second actuator may be operated to move only the other of the armswith respect to the shaft; and whereby furthermore when said actuatorsare simultaneously operated at the same rate, only said one of the armsis moved with respect to the shaft.

2. In a roll stand having a rock-shaft, a pair of substantially parallelroll-supporting arms corotatably carried on the rock shaft and slidablethere along axially, a support structure rotatably supporting therock-shaft, and means acting between the support structure and the shaftfor rotatably positioning the shaft, the improvement in combinationtherewith of: means precluding axial displacement of the shaft withrespect to the support structure; a pair of hydraulic actuators forjointly effecting roll edge alignment and for jointly effectingoppositely directed movements of the arms longitudinally of the rockshaft, the first of said actuators being connected between one of thearms and the shaft and the second of said actuators being connectedbetween the arms; whereby furthermore when said first actuator ishydraulically locked, said second actuator may be operated to move onlythe other of the arms with respect to the shaft; and

arms is'moved with respect" to theshaft.

3. In a hydrauliccontrol system for a roll stand having a rock-shaft, apair of substantially parallelrollsupporting arms corotatablycarried, onthe rock-shaft, and

at least one of which arms is slidable therealong axially, and a supportstructure rotatably supporting the rockshaft, the improvementcomprising: at least one hydraulic actuator operatively connectedbetween the support structure and the rock-shaft for rotatablypositioning the shaft; a pair of hydraulic pumps, each having an outputcommunicating with said actuator for raising the roll-supporting arms, afirst of said pumps having an output-pressure capacity more than doublethat of the second; a pair of check valves operatively intermediate saidpumps and said actuator respectively, each disposed to pass fluid fromthe associated pump to said actuator and to block outlet fluid flowbetween said pumps; a by-pass valve across one of said check valves; anda selector valve intermediate one of said pumps and said one check andby-pass valves and operative to transmit fluid flow from said one pumpto said one check valve, to receive fluid flow from said actuator viasaid by-pass valve and divert it, and to block fluid flow.

4. In a hydraulic control system for a roll stand having a rock-shaft, apair of substantially parallel rollsupporting arms corotatably carriedon the rock-shaft and at leastone of which arms is slidable therealongaxially, and a support structure rotatably supporting the rock-shaft,the improvement comprising: at least one hydraulic actuator operativelyconnected between the support structure and the rock-shaft for rotatablypositioning the shaft; a pair of hydraulic pumps, each having an outputcommunicating with said actuator for raising the roll-supporting arms, afirst of said pumps having an output-pressure capacity more than doublethat of the second; a pair of check valves operatively intermediate saidpumps and said actuator respectively, each disposed to pass fluid fromthe associated pump, to said actuator and to block outlet fluid flowbetween said pumps; a bypass valve-across that one of said check valveswhich is operatively associated with said second pump; and a selectorvalve intermediate said second pumpand said one check and by-pass valvesand operative to transmit fluid flow from said second pump to said onecheck valve, to receive fluid flow from said actuator. via said by-passvalve and divert it, and to block fluid flow.

w 5. In a hydraulic control system for a roll stand having a rock-shaft,a pair of substantially parallel rollsupporting arms corotatably carriedon the rock-shaft and at least one of which arms is'slidable therealongaxially, and a support structure rotatably supporting'the rock-shaft,the improvement comprising: a pair of singleacting hydraulic actuatorsoperatively connected between the support structure and opposite ends oftherock- .shaft for rotatably positioning the shaft; a pair of'hyidraulic pumps, each having an output communicating with both of saidactuators for raising the roll'supporting arms, a first of said pumpshaving an output-pressure capacity more than double that of the second;a pair of check valves each operatively intermediate one of said pumpsand both of said actuators respectively for passing fluid from theassociated pump to said actuators and to block fluid flow between saidpumps; a flow regulating valve intermediate said check valves and saidactuators and operative to limit flow rate in bo-thdirec tions; aby-pass valve across that one of said check valves which is operativelyassociated with said second pump; and a selector valve intermediate saidsecond pump and said one check and by-pass valves and operative to transmit fluid flow from said second pump to said one check valve, to receivefluid flow from said actuators via said ,by-pass valve and divert it,and to block fluid flow.

' References Cited in the fileo'f this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSVickers Dec. 4, 1934 Behrens Aug. 13, 1946

